Patches rides up front. Joe and Fibber lay in the back with the cage of quail as the old Ford makes its way past farm land and the occasional newly opened coal road.

Out in the middle of the field, Dr. Henry Smith releases the birds one at a time, remembering where they flew off. The hunt is on.

Smith and his hunting partner, David Lanham, stroll in the direction of the birds while the dogs eagerly hunt for their scent.

“The reason we do it like this is to get the dogs out for some exercise,” Smith said. “I don’t care what kind of papers they’ve got. I want them for hunting.”

Fibber came from Smith’s friend who thought himself too old to hunt. Patches belonged to Smith’s hunting partner who had died, and Joe was found on the side of the road.

“I imagine Joe’s going to last as long as I am,” Smith said.

“That’s a great man right there,” Lanham said of Smith. “It’s a pleasure just being out here with him. He’s not going to be around forever.”

Andreas Fuhrmann is a senior photojournalism major from Bowling Green. He can be reached at [email protected].